celestial phenomenon mentioned in the Gospel According to Matthew as leading "wise men from the East" to the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Natural events that might well have been considered important omens and described as stars include exploding stars (novae and supernovae), comets (Halley's Comet was visible in 12 and 11 BC), meteors, and planetary conjunctions-i.e., apparent close approaches of two or more planets to each other